Porsche Flying High. In A Truck

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Guess who just had a 37 percent increase in sales in the first six months of 2011? No, it was no small Chinese car company with an unpronounceable name. It was Porsche. And guess what is putting Porsche into overdrive? No, not the 911. No, not the Panamera. It the most un-Porsche Porsche, the Cayenne (also available as the Touareg from Volkswagen.) Sitting on order books that give the Cayenne delivery times as high as 12 months in some markets, Porsche will increase production of the Cayenne next year, says Automotive News Europe [sub].

Increasing Cayenne production by 10 percent to 20 percent starting in 2012, Porsche pursues the noble goal of eventually bringing down delivery times to no longer than six months. Exact sales data will be published tomorrow.

Now that Porsche is (not quite) under the umbrella of Volkswagen, they want to do their share in Wolfsburg’s Strategie 2018 plan for world domination and double their sales to about 200,000 vehicles by 2018. Every little bit helps.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Philadlj Philadlj on Jul 11, 2011

    They're also considering a new sports car to fit between the 911 and 918. Selling more Cayennes to orange blonde women should help make that happen.

  • Jaje Jaje on Jul 11, 2011

    Good - I'm looking for a 4-5 year old used Cayenne in the near future and pay only 40% of its original MSRP. Love it when people buy good cars that are too expensive and take such a hit in depreciation that people like me can afford them later at a more reasonable price.

    • Jmo Jmo on Jul 11, 2011
      I’m looking for a 4-5 year old used Cayenne in the near future and pay only 40% of its original MSRP Given that a 5 year old Cayenne has likely used up 1/3 of it's useful like and considering maintenance and repair costs, how do you figure you're saving any money?
  • William442 William442 on Jul 11, 2011

    If our 2011 Touareg is any indication, a four to five year old Cayenne will be junk.

  • Robert Schwartz Robert Schwartz on Jul 11, 2011

    If that is a picture of the next Cayenne at the top of the page, they have beaten it with an ugly stick, and it wasn't that pretty to begin with.

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